Buccaneers vs. Philadelphia Eagles

About our opponent the Philadelphia Eagles

The Philadelphia Eagles are based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division.

The franchise was established in 1933 as a replacement for the bankrupt Frankford Yellow Jackets, when a group led by Bert Bell secured the rights to an NFL franchise in Philadelphia. Bell, Chuck Bednarik, Bob Brown, Reggie White, Steve Van Buren, Tommy McDonald, Greasy Neale, Pete Pihos, Sonny Jurgensen, and Norm Van Brocklin have been inducted to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

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The team has an intense rivalry with the New York Giants. This rivalry is the oldest in the NFC East and is among the oldest in the NFL. It was ranked by NFL Network as the number one rivalry of all-time and Sports Illustrated ranks it amongst the Top 10 NFL rivalries of all-time at number four, and according to ESPN, it is one of the fiercest and most well-known rivalries in the American football community. They also have a historic rivalry with the Washington Redskins, as well as their bitter rivalry with the Dallas Cowboys, which has become more high-profile in the last three decades. Their rivalry with the Steelers is another bitter rivalry because they play in the same state. The team consistently ranks in the top three in attendance and has sold out every game since the 1999 season. In a Sports Illustrated poll of 321 NFL players, Eagles fans were selected the most intimidating fans in the NFL. Team Mascot SWOOP The mascot Swoop is used to represent various sports organizations in the United States. One of the most notable mascots named Swoop is used by the Eagles. Various American universities use the name Swoop as their athletic program mascots. During the NFL regular season, Swoop regularly appears as an animated character in the weekly Eagles Kids Club television show. Since the show's debut in 2005, the animated version of Swoop has been serving as a host of this show.

Swoop made a cameo appearance in an NFL Shop commercial where a thief disguised as a kangaroo mascot tried to steal Philadelphia Eagles jerseys from the locker room after a game. Swoop walks into the locker room and the kangaroo tries to escape but the security guards catch it. Swoop also made a cameo appearance in the 1994 comedy film Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, where Ventura beats the mascot after the latter shooed away an albino pigeon (which was worth a lot of money that Ventura wanted).

The "Swoop" character is depicted as an American bald eagle wearing a sports jersey of the Philadelphia Eagles.

Cheerleading Squad

The Philadelphia Eagles Cheerleaders squad features 38 women. The squad debuted in 1948 as the Eaglettes, and became the Liberty Belles in the 1970s, and became the Philadelphia Eagles Cheerleaders in the 1980s. In April, the squad holds annual auditions at the Kimmel Center, with the final auditions being aired on PhiladelphiaEagles.com.

The squad, unlike other NFL squads, also releases a swimsuit calendar, but the Eagles Cheerleaders have also released it on Android, as well as iOS for $1.99. The squad's director, Barbara Zaun, was a titleholder for Miss USA and Miss America, and also coordinated the Eagles Cheerleaders for Super Bowl XXXIX, the Pro Football Hall of Fame Game, as well as various photo shoots. The squad also makes off-field appearances. The squad has also made an appearance at the 2012 Senior Bowl in Mobile, Alabama.

Logo & Uniforms

For several decades, the Eagles' colors were kelly green, silver, and white. In 1954, the Eagles, along with the Baltimore Colts, became the second team ever in the NFL to put a logo on their helmets, with silver wings on a kelly green helmet. In 1969, the team wore two helmet versions: Kelly green with white wings in road games, and white with kelly green wings at home. From 1970 to '73, they wore the white helmets with Kelly green wings exclusively before switching back to Kelly green helmets with silver wings. By 1974, Joseph A. Scirrotto Jr. designed the silver wings took on a white outline, and this style on a kelly green helmet became standard for over two decades.

From 1948–95, the team logo was an eagle in flight carrying a football in its claws, although from '69–72, the eagle took on a more stylized look. As the design was similar to the Apollo 11 emblem, and its moon-landing craft was dubbed Eagle, players wore the flight's mission patch on their jerseys during 1969.

In 1973, the team's name was added below the eagle, which returned to its pre-'69 look.

However, both the logo and uniforms were radically altered in 1996. The primary kelly green color was changed to a darker shade, officially described as "midnight green." Silver was practically abandoned, as uniform pants moved to either white or midnight green. The traditional helmet wings were changed to a primarily white color, with silver and black accents. The team's logo combination (the eagle and club name lettering) also changed in 1996, with the eagle itself limited to a white (bald eagle) head, drawn in a less realistic, more cartoon-based style, and the lettering changing from calligraphic to block letters.

Since the 1996 alterations, the team has made only minor alterations, mostly relating to jersey/pant combinations worn during specific games. For example, in 1997, against the San Francisco 49ers, the team wore midnight green jerseys and pants for the first of only two occasions in team history. The second occasion was in 2002, during the final regular season game at Veterans Stadium, a win over the division-rival Washington Redskins. A year later, in the first two games of the 2003 season (both home losses to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and New England Patriots), the Eagles wore white jerseys with white pants. Since 2003, the white jerseys along with white pants have been worn during preseason games.

To celebrate the team's 75th anniversary, the 2007 uniforms featured a 75th-season logo patch on the left shoulder. In addition, the team wore "throwback" jerseys in a 2007 game against the Detroit Lions. The yellow and blue jerseys, the same colors found on Philadelphia's city flag, are based on those worn by the Philadelphia Eagles in the team's inaugural season, and were the same colors used by the former Frankford Yellow Jackets franchise prior to their suspension of operations in 1931. The Eagles beat Detroit, 56–21.

Philadelphia Eagles wear their white jerseys at home for preseason games and daytime games in the first half of the regular season from September to mid-October when the temperature is warmer. In night contests in the first half of the regular season, the Eagles do not need to wear white at home since the temperature is cooler. However, there have been exceptions, such as the home opener against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2003 and the Washington Redskins in 2007 that were played at night. In late October or beginning in November, the Eagles start to wear their colors at home (although they have done it earlier before), be it the midnight green jerseys or a third jersey. On one occasion the Eagles wore white at home after October in a meeting against the Dallas Cowboys on November 4, 2007 to make the Cowboys wear their road blue jerseys. Since moving to Lincoln Financial Field in 2003, the Eagles have worn white at home for at least their home opener, with the exceptions for the 2010 home opener (see next paragraph), the 2011 home opener against the New York Giants, and the 2016 home opener against the Cleveland Browns.

For the 2013 season, the Eagles started to wear white pants, as an alternate to their green pants, with their white jerseys, in the regular season.

Fans & Bad Behavior

The American City Business Journals, which conducts a regular study to determine the most loyal fans in the NFL, evaluates fans based primarily on attendance-related factors, and ranked Eagles fans third in both 1999 and 2006. The 2006 study called the fans "incredibly loyal", noting that they filled 99.8% of the seats in the stadium over the previous decade. Forbes placed the Eagles fans first in its 2008 survey, which was based on the correlation between team performance and fan attendance. ESPN.com placed Eagles fans fourth in the league in its 2008 survey, citing the connection between the team's performance and the mood of the city. The last home game which was blacked out on television in the Philadelphia market as a result of not being sold out was against the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday, September 12, 1999, which was Andy Reid's first home game as new head coach of the Eagles.

The studies note that—win or lose—Eagles fans can be counted on to pack their stadium. As of August 2008, the team had sold out 71 consecutive games, and 70,000 were on the team's waiting list for season tickets. Despite finishing with a 6–10 record in the 2005–2006 season, the Eagles ranked second in the NFL in merchandise sales, and single-game tickets for the next season were sold out minutes after phone and Internet lines opened.

Eagles fans have also been known to chant the famous, "E-A-G-L-E-S – Eagles!!" at Flyers, Phillies, and Sixers games when the team is getting blown out late in a game and a loss is inevitable, signifying their displeasure with the given team's performance, and that they are instead putting their hope into the Eagles.

BAD BEHAVIOR Along with their devotion, Eagles fans have a reputation for BAD behavior, especially when the team plays its rivals. In If Football's a Religion, Why Don't We Have a Prayer?, Jereé Longman described the fans of the 700 Level of Veterans Stadium as having a reputation for "hostile taunting, fighting, public urination and general strangeness." So many incidents occurred at a 1997 game against the 49ers that at the following home game, Judge Seamus McCaffrey began presiding over a temporary courtroom at the stadium; 20 suspects came before him that day. Fan behavior improved after the team's move to Lincoln Financial Field, and "Eagles Court" ended in December 2003. Stadiums Shibe Park Shibe Park hosted the Frankford Yellow Jackets against the Chicago Bears on December 5, 1925 and the Yellow Jackets against the Bears on December 4, 1926. It also served as the site of two AFL games in 1926, the Philadelphia Quakers against the Los Angeles Wildcats on November 20, 1926 and the Quakers against the New York Yankees on November 27, 1926.

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The stadium hosted the December 12, 1925, Pottsville Maroons–Notre Dame All-Stars game. The Maroons' NFL franchise was suspended as a result of the team's participation in that contest, costing Pottsville the 1925 NFL championship.

The Philadelphia Eagles moved to Shibe Park in 1940 and played their home games at the stadium through 1957.

To accommodate football at Shibe Park during the winter, management set up stands in right field, parallel to Twentieth Street. Some twenty feet high, these "east stands" had twenty-two rows of seats. The goalposts stood along the first base line and in left field. The uncovered east stands enlarged capacity of Shibe Park to over thirty-nine thousand, but the Eagles rarely drew more than twenty-five to thirty thousand.

The Eagles played the 1948 NFL Championship Game in a blizzard; the home team defeated the Chicago Cardinals 7–0, the only score being a Steve Van Buren touchdown. The Eagles left Connie Mack Stadium after the 1957 season for Franklin Field. Franklin Field would seat over 60,000 for the Eagles whereas Connie Mack had a capacity of 39,000.

Veterans Stadium

Veterans Stadium hosted the Philadelphia Eagles from 1971 to January 2003

The stadium was named by the Philadelphia City Council, in 1968, for the veterans of all wars. As early as December 1969. The stadium's design was nearly circular, and was known as an "octorad" design, which attempted to facilitate both football and baseball. Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego had been similarly designed. As was the case with other cities where this dual approach was tried (other examples include RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C.; Shea Stadium in New York City, the Astrodome in Houston; Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium in Atlanta; Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis; Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati; and Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh), the fundamentally different sizes and shapes of the playing fields made the stadium inadequate to the needs of either sport.

Final Game

As the stadium aged, its condition deteriorated. A hole in the wall allowed visiting teams' players to peep into the Eagles Cheerleaders dressing room. So many mice infested the stadium that the security force employed cats as mousers. The final football game played at the Vet was the Eagles' 27–10 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the NFC Championship Game on January 19, 2003. The Eagles moved into Lincoln Financial Field in August 2003.

Lincoln Financial Field

The current home stadium of the Philadelphia Eagles and the Temple Owls football team of Temple University. It has a seating capacity of 69,176. It is located in South Philadelphia on Pattison Avenue between 11th and South Darien streets, also alongside I-95 as part of the South Philadelphia Sports Complex. Many locals refer to the stadium simply as "The Linc".

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The stadium opened on August 3, 2003 after two years of construction that began on May 7, 2001, replacing Veterans Stadium. While total seating capacity is similar to that of "The Vet," the new stadium contains double the number of luxury and wheelchair-accessible seats, along with more modern services. The field's construction included several light emitting diode (LED) video displays, as well as more than 624 feet (190 m) of LED ribbon boards.

Naming rights were sold in June 2002 to Lincoln Financial Group, for a sum of $139.6 million over 21 years. Additional construction funding was raised from the sale of Stadium Builder's Licenses to Eagles season ticket holders.

In late spring of 2013, the Eagles announced that there will be some major upgrades to Lincoln Financial Field over the next 2 years. The total project estimate is valued at over $125 million. The upgrades included seating expansion, two new HD video boards, upgraded amenities, WiFi, and two new connecting bridges for upper levels. These upgrades were decided upon after research from season ticket holders, advisory boards, and fan focus groups. The majority of these changes, including WiFi (which will accommodate 45,000 users and have coverage over the entire stadium), were completed by the 2013 home opener. The upgraded sound systems and video boards were finished for the 2014 season.

Franchise history

1931–1960

Midway through the 1931 season, the Frankford Yellow Jackets went bankrupt and ceased operations. After more than a year of searching for a suitable replacement, the NFL granted an expansion franchise to a syndicate headed by Bert Bell and Lud Wray and awarded them the franchise rights of the failed Yellow Jackets organization. The Bell-Wray group had to pay an entry fee of $3,500 (equal to $39,371 today) and assumed a total debt of $11,000 that was owed to three other NFL franchises. Drawing inspiration from the Blue Eagle insignia of the National Recovery Administration the centerpiece of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal—Bell and Wray named the new franchise the Philadelphia Eagles. Neither the Eagles nor the NFL officially regard the two franchises as the same, citing the aforementioned period of dormancy. Furthermore, almost no Yellow Jackets players were on the Eagles' first roster. The Eagles, along with the Pittsburgh Steelers and the now-defunct Cincinnati Reds, joined the NFL as expansion teams.

The Eagles struggled over the course of their first decade, enduring repeated losing seasons. In December 1940, Pittsburgh Steelers owner Art Rooney sold his franchise to Alexis Thompson for $160,000 and then used half of the proceeds to buy a half interest in the Eagles from his friend Bert Bell. Soon after, Bell and Rooney traded the Eagles franchise to Thompson and moved it to Pittsburgh (as the "Steelers"), while Thompson moved the Steelers franchise to Philadelphia (as the "Eagles").

In 1943, when manpower shortages stemming from World War II made it impossible to fill the roster, the team merged with the Pittsburgh Steelers forming the "Phil-Pitt Eagles" and were known as the "Steagles." (The merger, never intended as a permanent arrangement, was dissolved at the end of the 1943 season.) By the late 1940s, head coach Earle "Greasy" Neale and running back Steve Van Buren led the team to three consecutive NFL Championship Games, winning two of them in 1948 and 1949. Those two championships mark the Eagles as the only NFL team ever to win back-to-back championships by shutouts, defeating the Chicago Cardinals, 7–0, in 1948—in a blizzard—and the Los Angeles Rams, 14–0, in 1949.

After the 1957 season, the Eagles moved from Connie Mack Stadium to Franklin Field at the University of Pennsylvania. Franklin Field would seat over 60,000 for the Eagles, whereas Connie Mack had a capacity of 39,000. The stadium switched from grass to AstroTurf in 1969. It was the first NFL stadium to use artificial turf.

In 1960, the Eagles won their third NFL championship, under the leadership of future Pro Football Hall of Famers Norm Van Brocklin and Chuck Bednarik; the head coach was Buck Shaw. The 1960 Eagles, by a score of 17–13, became the only team to defeat Vince Lombardi and his Green Bay Packers in the playoffs.

1961–1975

The Eagles had a good 1961 season and then fell on hard times in 1962. Jerry Wolman, after consulting his longtime friend Brandon Sturrock, bought the franchise in 1963 from the "Happy Hundred", a group of investors who owned the team from 1949–1963, for $5,505,000 (equal to $43,064,658 today).

In 1969, Leonard Tose bought the Philadelphia Eagles from Wolman for $16,155,000 (equal to $105,505,930 today), then a record for a professional sports franchise. Tose's first official act was to fire Coach Joe Kuharich after a disappointing 24–41–1 record during his five-year reign. He followed this by naming former Eagles receiving great Pete Retzlaff as General Manager and Jerry Williams as coach.

With the merger of the NFL and AFL in 1970, the Eagles were placed in the NFC East Division with their archrivals the New York Giants, the Washington Redskins, and the Dallas Cowboys. Their heated rivalry with the Giants is the oldest of the NFC East rivalries, dating all the way back to 1933 and has been considered by writers in Philadelphia as one of the best rivalries in the NFL in the 21st century.

1976–1984

In 1976, Dick Vermeil was hired from UCLA to coach the Eagles, who had only one winning season from 1962–1975. Starting in 1978, head coach Dick Vermeil and quarterback Ron Jaworski led the team to four consecutive playoff appearances.

Vermeil's 1980 team won their first NFC East title. They were matched up against their hated rival the Dallas Cowboys in the NFC Championship game, which they won 20–7. However, the Eagles lost to the Oakland Raiders in Super Bowl XV in 1981. The following year, the Eagles were eliminated in the wildcard round at home against the New York Giants. In the aftermath of the disappointing and strike-shortened season of 1982, head coach Dick Vermeil resigned, claiming that he was "burned out". Vermeil was replaced by defensive coordinator Marion Campbell.

In January 1983, Tose announced that his daughter, Susan Fletcher, the Eagles' vice president and legal counsel, would eventually succeed him as primary owner of the Eagles. Then in 1984, rumors were circulating that Leonard Tose was thinking about moving the team to Phoenix, Arizona due to financial reasons.

1985–1993

In 1985, Tose was forced to sell the Eagles to Norman Braman and Ed Leibowitz, highly successful automobile dealers from Florida, for a reported $65 million (equal to $144,741,646 today) to pay off his more than $25 million (equal to $55,669,864 today) in gambling debts at Atlantic City casinos.

Philadelphia football struggled through the Marion Campbell years of the mid-1980s and was marked by a malaise in fan participation. However, in the 1985 Supplemental draft, the Eagles acquired the rights to Memphis Showboats' elite pass rusher Reggie White. In 1986, the arrival of head coach Buddy Ryan and his fiery attitude rejuvenated team performance and ignited the fan base, but the Eagles failed to win a playoff game during Ryan's tenure. Possibly the worst of these losses was the so-called Fog Bowl in 1988 against the Chicago Bears, which happened to be Ryan's former team that he helped lead to a Super Bowl XX victory as defensive coordinator. Ryan was fired on January 7, 1991, after an upset home playoff loss to the Redskins. Offensive coordinator Rich Kotite was promoted to head coach three days later.

After All Pro defensive tackle Jerome Brown was killed in an automobile accident, the team and fanbase became dedicated to "bring it home for Jerome" in the 1992 season. Kotite did lead the Eagles to a playoff victory against the New Orleans Saints during the 1992 season, but they lost all-time sacks leader Reggie White to free agency in the offseason. Kotie's contract was not renewed after a disappointing 1994 season in which the Eagles went 7–9, losing their last seven games after starting the season 7–2. From 1988 to 1996, the Eagles qualified for the playoffs during six out of those nine seasons, but they won the NFC East only once, in 1988. Among the team's offensive stars during that period were quarterback Randall Cunningham, tight end Keith Jackson, and running back Herschel Walker. But the "Gang Green" defense is possibly what defined the team, led by Reggie White, Jerome Brown, Clyde Simmons, Seth Joyner, Wes Hopkins, Mike Golic, Byron Evans, Eric Allen, Andre Waters and Mark McMillian.

Jeffrey Lurie Era (1994–present)

Jeffrey Lurie bought the Eagles on May 6, 1994 from then-owner Norman Braman for an estimated $185 million. The club is now estimated to be the 17th most valuable sports team, worth $1.314 billion, as valuated in 2014 by Forbes.

In Lurie's first season as owner, the team only had 7 wins, but that was followed by a 10 win season in 1995. Besides the 10 wins and a playoff berth, 1996 was an eventful year. The uniforms changed from the classic shade of Kelly Green to a darker midnight green, quarterback Randall Cunningham left after 11 seasons, and future fan favorite 13-year starter Brian Dawkins was drafted in the 2nd round. After slipping to 6–9–1, and then to 3–13, head coach Ray Rhodes was fired after four seasons.

Andy Reid Era (1999–2012)

In 1999, the Eagles hired head coach Andy Reid and drafted quarterback Donovan McNabb. From 1999 until 2004, the team continually improved, going from 5–11 in 1999, returning to the playoffs in with an 11–5 record in 2000, surpassing the Buccaneers in the Wild Card round before losing in the divisional. Moreover, the Eagles played in four straight NFC Championship Games between 2001 and 2004. In 2001, the Eagles stayed at 11–5, beating the Buccaneers and Bears to advance to the NFC championship, where they lost to the St. Louis Rams. In 2002, the Eagles drafted running back Brian Westbrook, got the 1st round bye with the 2nd seed in the NFC with a 12–4 record, but the Tampa Bay Buccaneers got their revenge in the Championship and eliminated the Eagles. In 2003, they won the NFC first seed, but Westbrook went down in Week 17, culminating in a loss to the Carolina Panthers in their 3rd straight NFC Championship. In 2004, the Philadelphia Eagles had their best season since 1960, going 13–1 before resting their starters and losing their next 2, clinching the 1st seed for the second year in a row. McNabb set career highs, completing 64% of his passes for 3,875 yards, though he didn't play all 16 games.

McNabb became the first quarterback ever to throw more than 30 touchdowns and fewer than 10 interceptions in a season. His success could be attributed to the fact that he had a reliable receiver, Terrell Owens, who got 1,200 yards and 14 touchdowns in 14 games. After beating the Vikings and Falcons the Eagles advanced to Super Bowl XXXIX, where they dueled the New England Patriots. Although McNabb threw 3 touchdown passes and 357 yards in the game, and the score was tied 14–14 going into the fourth quarter, the Patriots outscored the Eagles and scored ten straight points. McNabb completed a 30-yard touchdown pass, and the Eagles defense held the Patriots to a 3 and out, but a crucial interception with 46 seconds left on the clock secured their fate. The Eagles have never appeared in a Super Bowl since, but this was their closest one at winning.

The team took a step back in 2005 with a 6–10 record. McNabb had played with a sports hernia and a broken thumb, starting 4–2 but losing three in a row, before McNabb finally succumbs to injury and is out for the rest of the season. For obnoxious behavior and a feud with McNabb, Owens was suspended after 7 games, eventually being cut. In 2006, the team lost McNabb 10 games in and went into turmoil, but Westbrook stepped up, and the Eagles earned their fifth NFC East title under Coach Reid, with a 10–6 record and a win in the wild card round, but they had an 8–8 2007 season. In 2008, the team won their 500th game, and they also drafted DeSean Jackson, a receiving threat when paired with McNabb.

On January 11, 2009, the team defeated the defending Super Bowl champion and 1st seed New York Giants 23–11 en route to their 5th NFC Championship Game in 8 years and 5th in the 10 years the Eagles have been coached by Andy Reid. In the 2008 NFC Championship Game, the Eagles made a rally, going from 24–6 at halftime to 25–24 with three minutes left in the 4th, but they lost to the Arizona Cardinals by a score of 32–25 after quarterback Kurt Warner scored a last minute touchdown. As of the conclusion of the 2016 season, during the Lurie era, the Eagles are 1–4 in conference championship games and 0–1 in Super Bowls.

On August 13, 2009, the Eagles signed quarterback Michael Vick. On December 6, 2009, Andy Reid became only the 5th coach in NFL history to win 100 or more games with a single team in a single decade. The other four are Tom Landry, Don Shula, Tony Dungy, and Bill Belichick, all Super Bowl winners. McNabb finally had a complete receiving corps, between first round draft pick Jeremy Maclin, DeSean Jackson's 1,000 yard season, and Brent Celek ranking among the top 5 tight ends in the league. Without Brian Dawkins, defensive end Trent Cole stepped up and became the dominant force on defense with 12 sacks, earning him his second trip to the Pro Bowl and All-Pro honors. In 2009, the Eagles started 5–4, but moved up to 11–4, and could clinch the NFC 2nd seed if they won their next game. After a shutout at the hands of the Dallas Cowboys in week 17, the Eagles missed the 1st round bye. but with a record of 11–5, but they were the NFC 6th seed and they narrowly made the playoffs. In the 2009 NFC Wild Card Game, the Eagles played against the Cowboys for the second consecutive week and lost 34–14. Despite many errors from many players, and a great season before the breakdown in Dallas, McNabb took the brunt of the blow and was heavily criticized. Coach Andy Reid said up until April 1, 2010, that McNabb would remain the starter.

On March 5, 2010, Brian Westbrook was cut from the Eagles after eight seasons with the team. On April 4, 2010, the team traded long-time starting quarterback Donovan McNabb to the Washington Redskins in exchange for a second round draft pick. Kevin Kolb was immediately named the starter, but after suffering a concussion in week 1 against the Packers, Vick took over as the starter. Vick led the Eagles to its sixth NFC East division title in ten seasons. With a record of 10–6 the Eagles clinched the 3rd seed and had to play a Wild Card Playoff Game. During the 2010 NFC Wild Card Game, the Eagles faced off against the eventual Super Bowl champion Green Bay Packers and lost 21–16.

The 2011 season for the Eagles was a major disappointment, as they only managed to finish 8–8 and did not qualify for the playoffs, although they did win the last 4 games of the season. Because of several free agent acquisitions, Vince Young, a back up quarterback, stated that the Eagles were a Dream Team. The Philadelphia fan base and faithful never did concur with the comment as some national outlets may comment. Many Eagles fans believe that Vince Young saying that the Eagles were a 'Dream Team' is the reason that the Eagles had such a horrible season.

Eagles fans had high expectations going into the 2012 season. The Eagles started off winning three out of their four first games, but that changed when they lost the next eight games, and were eliminated from the playoff hunt. They only won one out of their last four games. After a loss to the New York Giants on December 30, 2012, longtime head coach Andy Reid was fired after fourteen seasons with the team.

Chip Kelly Era (2013–2015)

On January 16, 2013, the Eagles brought in University of Oregon head coach Chip Kelly to succeed Reid as head coach after a 4–12 season. The Philadelphia Eagles named Michael Vick starting quarterback going into the 2013 season with much promise running Chip Kelly's fast-paced spread offense.

The 2013 season proved to be more successful for the Eagles. A hamstring injury took Michael Vick out after a 1–3 start, but his backup, Nick Foles, led the team to a 10–6 regular season record, and its seventh NFC East title in 13 seasons. Before throwing his first interception in Week 14, Foles threw 19 touchdowns, which was just one shy of the all-time NFL record of consecutive touchdowns without an interception to start a season, set earlier in the season by Peyton Manning. Foles also tied Manning for most touchdown passes in a single-game with seven against the Oakland Raiders which also made him the youngest player in NFL history to throw that many touchdowns in a game. Foles finished the regular season with 27 touchdown passes and only 2 interceptions, giving him the then-best TD-INT ratio in NFL history. (That record was later broken by Tom Brady, in the 2016 season.) He also finished with a 119.0 passer rating, third highest in league history behind only Aaron Rodgers in 2011 and Peyton Manning in 2004. He was also only the second quarterback in NFL history to have a game in which he topped 400 passing yards and a perfect passer rating. LeSean McCoy finished his Pro Bowl season as the league's top rusher with 1,607 rushing yards (also a franchise record) and 2,146 total yards from scrimmage, also best in the NFL. As a whole, the Eagles offense scored 51 touchdowns, most in franchise history passing the previous season high set back in 1948.

The Eagles opened the 2014 season winning their first three games and making NFL history as the only team ever to trail by ten or more points in their first three games and come back to win. Nick Foles struggled with turnovers, but ultimately did well and led the Eagles to a 6–2 record, before breaking his collarbone, resulting in his job getting taken over by Mark Sanchez, who outplayed Foles despite facing more playoff teams. The Eagles held the divisional title from week one to week 15 against the Cowboys. After going 9–3 with their crucial win over the Cowboys, the Eagles lost their next 3, and a week after losing the NFC East title, they lost an upset against the 3–11 Redskins and were eliminated from playoff contention with the Cowboys' win over the Colts.

Following the 2014 season, Chip Kelly was given total control and made some controversial moves. He traded LeSean McCoy, who had become the team's all-time leading rusher after the 2014 season, for linebacker Kiko Alonso, a player Kelly coached at Oregon who had missed the entire 2014 season. He also cut ten-year veteran and starter, Trent Cole, who was still a consistent threat on defense and was second only to legend Reggie White on the Eagles all-time sack list. He also made a trade where the highly successful Nick Foles was traded for Sam Bradford, who had missed the entire 2014 season with an ACL tear. Kelly tried to re-sign Jeremy Maclin, who had stepped up as the team's leading wide receiver, but he signed with the Kansas City Chiefs instead. However, the Eagles also acquired league leading rusher DeMarco Murray, which not only helped the Eagles, but hurt their rivals, the Dallas Cowboys. They also obtained Super Bowl champion Byron Maxwell, who left the Seattle Seahawks in free agency to sign a six-year, $63 million contract. The first two games of the season were disastrous, as they started 0–2. Bradford had a 2–4 TD-INT ratio, Maxwell was constantly beaten by Falcons receiver Julio Jones, and Murray was held to 11 yards on 21 carries. After Murray was injured, Ryan Mathews rushed for over 100 yards in a Week 3 win against the New York Jets. Kelly made Murray the unquestioned starter and although Murray's play improved over the season, he never regained his dominant form and was held to a career low 3.6 yards per carry average.

On December 29, 2015, with one game left in the season, head coach Chip Kelly was released by the Eagles. Offensive Coordinator Pat Shurmur was named Interim Coach for the final game against the rival New York Giants, which Shurmur won 35–30. Former player and current running backs coach Duce Staley was the first coach to be interviewed for the opening head coaching job on January 2, 2016.

Doug Pederson Era (2016–present)

The Eagles hired Chiefs offensive coordinator Doug Pederson as their next head coach. The team made the official announcement on Monday, January 18, 2016. Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie said in a statement:
"Doug is a strategic thinker, a compelling leader and communicator, and someone who truly knows how to get the best out of his players. All of these factors were what initially attracted us to Doug and we believe that he is the right man to help us achieve our ultimate goal."

Pederson had been with the Chiefs for the preceding three years after spending the four seasons previous to those with the Eagles. He served as a quality control assistant for the Eagles in 2009 and 2010 before being promoted to quarterbacks coach for the 2011 and 2012 seasons. He was praised for his work with Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith over the preceding few seasons, particularly 2015, as the Chiefs moved into the top 10 in scoring offense.

At the end of the 2015 season, the Eagles had the 13th pick in the 2016 NFL Draft. They traded Byron Maxwell, Kiko Alonso, and their pick to the Miami Dolphins for the #8 pick. Later, they traded the #8 pick, their third-round pick, their fourth-round pick, a 2017 first-round pick, and a 2018 second-round pick to the Cleveland Browns for the #2 pick and a 2017 fourth-round pick. They would use the #2 pick to draft North Dakota State quarterback Carson Wentz. On September 3, 2016, the Eagles traded starting quarterback Sam Bradford to the Minnesota Vikings, who had lost Teddy Bridgewater for the season, for a 2017 first-round pick and a 2018 fourth-round pick. Following the trade, the Eagles named Wentz the starting quarterback for Week 1 of the 2016 season. First time head coach Pederson led the Eagles to a successful 3–0 start to the season. His rookie quarterback started with 5 touchdowns, 0 interceptions and over 255 yards per game. The week 4 bye took a toll on the Eagles, and they went on to lose their next four out of five games, including a loss to every rival team in their division. In those four games, their average margin of loss was just under 5 points. Continuing on throughout the season, Pederson and the Eagles won just 3 of their last 7 games. Among those included grueling road losses against the Seattle Seahawks, the Cincinnati Bengals, and the Baltimore Ravens. Although 2nd overall pick Wentz started off the season well, the 6-5 quarterback finished with a TD–INT ratio of 16:14. The rookie head coach and rookie quarterback tandem led the Eagles to an ultimately disappointing year, finishing with a 7–9 record and coming in last in the division.

10 giant high-definition-ready light emitting diode (LED) pylons, located at the north, south, east and west entrances, display videos of the team currently in-house. The pylons measure approximately 54 feet (16 m) high by 20 feet (6.1 m) wide. Inside, are four 30 feet (9.1 m) by 116 feet (35 m) high definition video displays, and hang from each corner of the upper deck.

The new stadium seating bowl is laid out similar to that of Giants Stadium and has seating for 82,500 people, including 10,005 club seats and approximately 218 luxury suites, making it the second-largest NFL stadium in terms of total seating. The stadium, which is illuminated in different colors depending on which team is hosting a game, opened in April 2010 and saw the Jets and Giants open the stadium together in a preseason exhibition game. The Jets' first regular season home game at the new stadium was held on September 13, 2010 and was shown nationwide on Monday Night Football. New York lost to the Ravens 10–9. Team owners voted to have the stadium host Super Bowl XLVIII, held in 2014.